What is Sophianic Animism?

On Sunday 20 October 2019 the group "Sophianic Animism Sweden" presented a memorable evening with John Lamb Lash in connection with the translation of his book "Not in His Image" which is now in Swedish titled "Inte i Herrens avbild".

"With this event, John Lamb Lash held his first lecture since 2006 when the English edition of "Not in His Image" was released.

SOPHIANIC ANIMISM IN 500 WORDS

“Animism” denotes the action of life not merely as vital force, but more fully and deeply, animating force. “Sophia” denotes what upholds and directs that animation.

Pervading the spectrum of all that lives is a super-force that imparts direction and diversity of expression. SA is recognition of that supernatural force and bonding with it. If the animating matrix of life is intelligent, willful, and responsive to what it produces, it is appropriate to name it and treat it as a living creature having those attributes. The planetary animal called “Mother Earth” is the central figure in SA, rather than an off-planet father god or any other type of creator (authoritative, punitive) in Abrahamic religions. The mother goddess is a grounded presence accessible to the human mind and senses. The aim of SA is to interact with that presence, not through faith or fantasy, but experimentally, via a path of learning called Gnosis.

SA draws its founding elements from the Gnostic movement of antiquity, the most repressed, persecuted, and vilified body of knowledge in human history. Like Gnosis, SA is a heresy: “that which is chosen” (from Greek hairein, to choose). As a heresy it stands against all other religions. Gnosis is an alternative to religion, an option to forgo religious beliefs of all kinds, cultures, and periods. It is direct knowing of the natural and supernatural dimensions of existence, including the self-reflecting intellect and psyche in its sensuous, emotional, imaginal aspects. SA asserts that the soul-life of human creatures unfolds as an event in the natural world, p..